Violence Continues In 101 Precinct

18-Year-Old Killed On Thanksgiving Night

By Miriam Rosenberg

Patrick Hall, who was murdered while driving his taxi on November 13, is remembered by those he worked through messages on the windows of the Magnificent Sevens Car Service. Thanksgiving weekend was marred by gun violence in the Far Rockaway area with one of the two incidents ending in a fatality.

On Thanksgiving night, 18-year-old Eric Norman was shot in front of 13-60 Beach Channel Drive. Police found the victim lying face up on the pavement in the front driveway.

He sustained one bullet to the torso and one to the head. EMS workers pronounced him dead at the scene.

Detectives responded to the shooting, which took place at approximately 10:39 p.m., and spoke to witnesses while a Level 1 mobilization included a search of the area for evidence by aerial reconnaissance.

According to reports the 18-year-old had six previous arrests for marijuana and reckless endangerment and four for weapons possession.

Norman was one of eight shot and two who died from their wounds in the city on Thanksgiving Day.

On November 25, at approximately 2 p.m., shots were fired near 23-43 Enright Road.

According to the police, shots hit the second floor rear window of the home. Investigations into both shootings are ongoing.

All this comes approximately a week and a half after Deputy Inspector Michael Lipetri, the commander of the 101 Precinct, talked about the violence that plagued the precinct in previous months.

“We had a rough stretch from Memorial Day up until a month ago,” said Lipetri at the November 16 101 Precinct Community Council meeting. “We were substantially up in crime. Violence was up big time, especially within the housing developments. Shootings were up.”

On October 20, on Beach 56 Street and Rockaway Freeway (near Ocean Village) a known gang member was shot, but not fatally.

He was with another gang member at the time of the shooting. In the early morning hours of November 13, 21- year-old Sean Mack was shot twice, once in the torso and once in the arm causing his death, in the rear of 520 Beach 19 Street.

Two hours later Patrick Hall was shot once in the head and killed in his livery cab by a rear-seat passenger in front of 164 Beach 32 Street.

While Liperti wouldn’t elaborate, he did say that the car service in question was “one of ours.”

According to reports Hall worked for the Magnificent Sevens car service in Far Rockaway.

Investigations into both homicides continue.

Lipetri pointed out that “unfortunately the violence does continue. But with the violence we’ve made a lot of good arrests. In gun arrests, in gun seizures the 101 Precinct is way up from last year.”

While doing a vertical search at Beach 41st Street Houses on November 5, plainclothes officers arrested several individuals at a house party and took at least two firearms off the streets.

One individual arrested at Edgemere Houses was found to be in possession of a firearm and is still in jail on $10,000 bail.

“He has a long extensive [criminal] history,” said Lipetri. “At 1:30 in the morning, in the housing development with a firearm you can only think what could have happened.”